Kate Nicholson is a California artist, originally from New Orleans, who approaches painting and printmaking from her background in photography and journalism. Since moving part time to Barcelona, Kate explores what it means to find a sense of place in a new environment.
Often rendered in a limited palette, her work is a visual interpretation of her surroundings and reflects her effort to bring about order and calmness. Through the use of movement and gesture, she encourages the viewer to slow down, instilling in the work an expansiveness and the importance of immersing ourselves in what is in front of us.
As a young girl, Kate Nicholson wanted more than anything to write, but life went in a different direction. She has ghost written a couple of books and delivered a TED Talk, which you can see Tedx talk here.
Her story telling focus never left her and today she writes primarily for her own pleasure and weaves her thoughts into her visual artwork.
She holds a BA in Communications, Journalism from Loyola University and a MFA from Parsons, the New School for Design as well as a MBA from the University of New Orleans.
She lives and works in Barcelona and San Francisco.
Artist Statement
My work stems from the idea of a perceptual completion; how our brains fill in the blank areas in order for us to make sense of a scene in front of us. Often, we as viewers tend to see what we want to see, even if it isn’t there. It happens daily, in artwork or conversations - even relationships - as easily as a mirage in the desert.
In my Glimmer Series, I focus on just that – a faint, wavering light. I give the viewer just enough information to hint at a scene without fully illustrating it. Often rendered in a limited palette, my work is a visual interpretation of wonder, and reflects my desire to bring about order and calmness in a messy world.
With this series, I went back to my roots as a black and white photographer and begin by capturing a representational photograph with a camera (aka not digitally manipulated) that evokes water, sky, clouds and wind but is actually none of those things. I then print on archival paper and use graphite to bring out certain elements to enhance the mystery of the image.
With my paintings, I continue the idea of perception completion and though the work is abstract, I infuse each piece with a specific sense of a place I have either lived, visited or yearned for. I want to give just enough information for the viewer to pick up signals from me and complete the artwork with what vision they bring to the piece.
Through the use of movement and gesture, I hope to encourage the viewer to slow down, instilling in the work an expansiveness and the importance of what memories and desires we bring to our own perception of reality.
